Key points
- The limit is 38 hours a week for full-time employees, and the lesser of 38 and their ordinary hours for part-time and casual employees, plus reasonable additional hours.
- You can refuse extra hours that are unreasonable. The Act lists the factors, including health and safety, family responsibilities, notice, pay and your role.
- Leave counts as hours worked for the weekly limit.
- Overtime pay is set by your award, enterprise agreement or contract, not by the 38-hour rule.
- Right to disconnect: you can refuse out-of-hours contact from your employer or clients unless refusing is unreasonable (all employers since 26 August 2025).
- Help: the Fair Work Ombudsman Infoline is 13 13 94.
- For advice about hours, overtime or being disciplined for refusing extra work, call 1800 577 015 at any hour: free general legal information, and a 60-minute consultation with a lawyer for a fixed $295.
Under the Fair Work Act 2009, an employer must not request or require a full-time employee to work more than 38 hours a week, or a part-time or casual employee more than the lesser of 38 hours and their ordinary hours, unless the additional hours are reasonable; an employee can refuse unreasonable additional hours, judged by factors including health and safety, family responsibilities, notice, pay and the nature of the role.
Checked on 23 October 2026 against the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The maximum weekly hours rule
Under the National Employment Standards in the Fair Work Act 2009 (section 62), an employer must not request or require an employee to work more than these hours in a week unless the additional hours are reasonable:
| Employee | Maximum weekly hours |
|---|---|
| Full-time | 38 hours |
| Part-time or casual | The lesser of 38 hours and their ordinary hours of work in a week |
- You can refuse unreasonable extra hours: an employee may refuse to work additional hours beyond those limits if they are unreasonable.
- Leave counts: authorised leave or absence in the week, paid or unpaid, counts as hours worked for this rule. For example, a full-time employee who takes a day of annual leave has already used those hours toward the 38.
- Averaging: an award or enterprise agreement can average hours over a period, and an employee with no award or agreement can agree in writing to average hours over up to 26 weeks. The average must still be 38 hours (or less for part-time and casual employees) unless any excess is reasonable.
When extra hours are reasonable
The Act lists what must be taken into account in deciding whether extra hours are reasonable:
- any risk to the employee's health and safety from working them;
- the employee's personal circumstances, including family responsibilities;
- the needs of the workplace or business;
- whether the employee is paid overtime, penalty rates or other compensation for the extra hours, or a level of pay that reflects an expectation of working them;
- any notice the employer gave of the request, and any notice the employee gave of refusing;
- the usual patterns of work in the industry;
- the nature of the employee's role and their level of responsibility;
- whether the hours fit averaging terms in an award, agreement or averaging arrangement;
- anything else relevant.
The factors are weighed together. For example, a senior employee on a high salary that reflects long hours may be expected to work more than a junior casual with caring responsibilities who was given no notice.
Ordinary hours and overtime
- Ordinary hours: awards and enterprise agreements set the maximum and minimum ordinary hours in a day, week, fortnight or month, and the times of day they can be worked (the spread of hours, for example 7am to 7pm). They can differ for full-time, part-time and casual employees.
- Overtime: work outside ordinary hours, such as beyond the daily or weekly maximum, outside a part-time employee's agreed hours, or outside the spread of hours. Whether overtime rates are paid, and when an employer can require overtime, is set by the award, agreement or employment contract, not by the 38-hour rule.
- Fatigue: the Fair Work Ombudsman notes that health and safety issues such as fatigue should be considered and managed when an employee works overtime.
The right to disconnect
- The right: an employee may refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact, or attempted contact, from their employer outside their working hours, or from a third party (such as a client) about their work, unless the refusal is unreasonable.
- When it applies: from 26 August 2024 for employees of employers with 15 or more employees, and from 26 August 2025 for employees of small businesses (fewer than 15 employees).
- What decides reasonableness: the reason for the contact, how it is made and how disruptive it is, whether the employee is paid to be available or for extra hours, their role and responsibility, and their personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities. Refusing contact that a law requires is unreasonable.
- Protection and disputes: the right is a workplace right, so an employer must not take action against an employee for using it. Disputes should first be raised at work, then can go to the Fair Work Commission, which can make orders.
Free help
| Service | Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Fair Work Ombudsman Infoline (pay, hours and conditions) | 13 13 94 | 8am to 5:30pm, Monday to Friday |
| Fair Work Commission help line (applications and process; no legal advice) | 1300 799 675 | 9am to 5pm local time, Monday to Friday |
If you have been dismissed, an unfair dismissal application to the Fair Work Commission has a strict 21-day deadline, so get advice without delay.
How Go To Court Lawyers can help
Our free line, 1800 577 015, answers at any hour. Jen, our AI legal information assistant, gives general legal information and takes your details; Jen is not a lawyer and does not give advice about your case. A 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in your state is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person where the lawyer offers it. The lawyer can advise whether the hours you are being asked to work are reasonable, what your award or agreement says about overtime, and what to do if you are disciplined or dismissed for refusing. Requests are taken at any hour; how soon a lawyer can see you depends on who is available. Request a $295 consultation.
General information only, not legal advice. Updated 23 October 2026. Checked against the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), compilation No. 73 (7 July 2026), sections 62 to 64 and 333M, and the Fair Work Ombudsman's pages on hours of work, when overtime applies and the right to disconnect, on 23 October 2026.